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Erin
Hart’s debut novel, HAUNTED GROUND,
drew
wide critical acclaim, attracted a host of ardent fans, and established
her as an
exciting new crime writer to watch. In LAKE OF SORROWS,
Hart again delves into
Ireland’s mysterious peat bogs to create a stunning tale of deception
and
murder.
Death
hangs heavy in the disturbed air of
Ireland’s lonely Loughnabrone peat bog, an ancient holy place, steeped
in
legend, drowned in sorrow, and long since abandoned by man. Pathologist
Nora
Gavin has been called to an archaeological site in the bleak midlands
west of
Dublin—a
place known as the Lake of
Sorrows—to
assist at an excavation where a well-preserved Iron Age body has been
found in a bog.
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But
moments after her arrival a much more recent victim is discovered. Like
the
ancient body, the new corpse bears multiple wounds, suggesting the
ghastly
ritual sacrifice of Ireland’s blood-soaked pagan past.
How many hundreds or thousands of years ago was the man killed? Was his
a
ritual death, some kind of sacrifice? These academic questions are
intriguing, but of much more urgent interest is the second body found
nearby—of
a man wearing a wristwatch, hardly an Iron Age accessory. But his
corpse does
show strange similarities to that of his ancient counterpart. Both
bodies bear
signs of "triple death," a primitive practice in which a victim was
ritually slain three ways, perhaps to appease some pagan trinity.
Nora and archaeologist Cormac Maguire, embroiled in a tumultuous love
affair,
must team up again professionally, and are soon enmeshed in the web of
tangled
desires and terrible secrets that surround this untimely death. The
danger
mounts, fueled by illicit liaisons, rumors of ancient gold, and one
person's
thirst for vengeance. Nora and Cormac must tread carefully, for as they
draw
closer to the truth, they come ever nearer to becoming the next victims
of a
ruthless killer.
A
magnificent follow-up to a sensational debut, LAKE OF SORROWS
again weaves
together history,
folklore, and forensics, conjuring the dark character of the
Irish
countryside in a complex and chilling thriller.
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an Excerpt
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LAKE OF SORROWS
was published simultaneously in
the U.S and Canada, Britain and Ireland, and has been translated into
German,
French, Dutch, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese, Norwegian,
Swedish,
Japanese, and Russian.
FROM
THE CRITICS...
 “Hart
spins another uncanny tale linking the bizarre bloodletting
practices of the ancients with modern acts of violence... More a
brooding presence than a dramatic backdrop, the bog is 'a mysterious,
holy place, home to spirits and strange mists, a place of
transformation and danger' that works a spell on people with a need to
connect to their ancestral past. Hart taps into this deep vein of
regional superstition, creating characters whose eccentricities have
been handed down in their bloodlines.” —
Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
“Myriad
twists and turns juice the plot and deepen the atmosphere in Hart's
moody second offering.” —
Kirkus
Reviews
“Full
of richest for readers who savor the multidimensionality of literary
fiction.”
—
Booklist
“...an
emotionally
and intellectually gorgeous descent. Hart's language sings...”
—
Publishers
Weekly
“Hart
is at her best binding the lives of her characters to the history and
traditions of the Irish midlands . . . personal detail and local
history give LAKE OF SORROWS a heft and richness
uncommon in contemporary suspense novels.” —
Minneapolis Star Tribune
“This
is a novel well worth reading—well worth buying in hardcover, in
fact—for all those who like their mysteries intricately woven, their
protagonists and antagonists complex, their sense of place realistic,
and their archaeology informative. LAKE OF SORROWS gets
four trowels.”
—
Bill Gresens, Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center
“Nora
Gavin, the complex forensic pathologist last seen in Erin Hart's
bestselling novel HAUNTED GROUND, returns in this
spellbinding neo-Gothic sequel set in the haunted hinterlands of
Ireland. With two winners under her belt, Hart is now teasing us with
rumors of a third entry in this highly addictive series. We can't
wait!” —
Barnes & Noble, Best Mysteries of 2004 Selection
FROM FELLOW AUTHORS...
“LAKE
OF SORROWS is that elusive pot of gold at the end of an Irish
rainbow. A beautifully told mystery, lush in its language, rich in
history and characters, full of ancient rites and modern treacheries,
this is a treasure of a tale.”
—
William Kent Krueger, Anthony Award-winning author of Blood Hollow
“LAKE
OF SORROWS is a terrific book. Erin Hart's writing is lyrical,
suspenseful, and highly recommended.” —
Alafair Burke, author of Missing Justice and Judgment Calls |
